The Blunt Axe
by BreakfastBender
Summary: Charlene shows her might and decides that Toki must accept his destiny as a death god. Warning: Death, Blood, Sadism, Masochism, Violence, Torture, Sex Finished 8/30/11
1. The Axe Grinds

"Gentleman, we have updated intel on the status of Charles Ofdensen," Senator Stampington said, standing in front of the Tribunal. "It appears that Mr. Ofdensen has been gathering intelligence of where our compound is located. Gentlemen, next week we will be moving to a new location somewhere in the Antarctic. We must remain hidden from Dethklok and it's growing army,".

"How did this happen? What army?" Vater Ortlaag interjected, sounding rather upset. More than he should be. Senator Stampington changed the slide. Before them was a former member of the tribunal.

"It appears that he attacked and over powered Mr. Baker at his home, and brutally tortured him with the assistance of a few of his elite gears,".

"Elite gears?" A new member of the Tribunal asked, apparently the man hired in Baker's place.

"A killing squad," Stampington again changed the slide "trained in the depths of Mordhaus. They are few, but they are strong and, as we've been told by the few gears we've captured, completely devoid of feeling or sympathy,". Senator Stampington again changed the slide. This new one was a very blurry dark photo taken in the depths of mordhaus. Line upon line of gears were standing in attack poses. "These Elite Gears lead smaller battalions of Gear Soldiers, skilled fighters loyal only to Dethklok. According to intel they are all trained in hand to hand combat, and the more skilled go on to be gunners. What we've discovered is that the number of Elite Gears tripled after the first attack on Mordhaus and has more than quadrupled since Ofdensen's return. Gear Soldiers are being trained at a septuple rate. They number in the thousands at last count. Charlene has added a small section of mages as well,". There was an audible gasp from Ortlaag.

"She's training more necromancers?" he said grimacing.

"No," Stampington replied. "As you have told us, Vater Ortlaag she wouldn't be able to pass on that knowledge without the use of the Order's books and casting plates. She isn't capable of training any new necromancers. No, she is training them in simple destruction spells and a select few healers. These skills are of a low level. From our understanding she never studied them and is using books available in many of the underground cult circles. They are nothing to be overly concerned about. Our own magical forces are sufficient for their deflection,". Senator Stampington again changed the slide. This new one was a picture of Charlene sitting at her desk in Mordhaus. "Further intelligence tells us that Charlene knows Toki's nature. This, gentlemen, is the most disturbing information we've received so far. She knows how to awaken the beserker death God within him , and she plans to do so soon. When this happens, we will be dealing with more than just a man who snaps when angry. We will be dealing with an un-hesitant killer that is loyal to only her and Dethklok. Combined with her known ruthlessness and volatile temper we are sitting on a time bomb. She's a loose cannon, as we have learned from reports of her behavior in Finland and Ortlaag's account of her membership in the Order. There is no telling what she'll do with her power. Stampington finished with his presentation and stood waiting for a response.

"She must be killed with the upmost quickness," Ortlaag said, wiping sweat from his brow.

"No," Selctia said, causing Ortlaag to jump "we must allow these events to unfold as they will,"

* * *

><p>Toki played the scale again, again tripping up on the last few notes. This gained him another hard slap across his knuckles with a ruler from the merciless Skwisgaar.<p>

"Again! And rights this time!" He shouted, drawing back the ruler again, in preparation for the inevitable failure of Toki for the 100th time. He would never get this scale right. He would never get anything right. Part of him wanted to quit, and to throw the guitar in Skwisgaar's face. Walk out of the room and the band. Now that Charlene was back and ignoring him, there was no reason for him to remain. On the other hand, he believed that he would maybe capture her heart again if he could master the scales. He failed again, because his mind was wandering to Charlene. He was snapped back into reality by another swift smack to his knuckles.

"Toki. I's doing this for you. The butlers lady wants you to gets betters for the good of the band. And apparently we's has to obey the butlers lady until robot butlers comes back,"

A pang went through Toki's heart. They had re-hired Charlene as their manager when the deadline passed, still believing that Charles would return. Charlene had made the decision for them, although the band had been convinced that they had signed the contract of their own free will, Toki saw Charlene convince them. He didn't understand why she could manipulate them, but it always seemed as if they were staring past her when she was in the room. It almost seemed as if she was a ghost, and implanted the belief that her orders were their own thoughts. Another smack came from the ruler.

"Toki! Pays attention!"

* * *

><p>Charlene sat in her study, ending the conversation with her father on the videophone.<p>

"Fine, four more weeks. That's it. No more of this. I'm sick of dealing with these morons. I'm also quite sick of having to deal with their vacant staring. Why can't I wake them?"

"Because, I'm part of the code. You know that. I'm asking for four weeks. My gears have obtained the information from Baker, we know where the current compound is. We have to watch them, to see if they move. Unless we keep on them we'll be unable to destroy them once and for all," Charles said with finality.

"Why not now? Let's just blow them to pieces now!" She shouted, slamming her fist into the desk and knocking her Skwisgaar mug of Duncan Hills coffee to the floor. Apparently the band had smashed all the Toki ones.

"Don't let that stain the rug. Either way, I've explained that as well. We have to wait until our forces are able to destroy those of the tribunal. Keep training the army, and wait for my orders,"

"Fine," Charlene said, betraying her annoyance. She had never had the ability to hide her emotions as well as her father. "Four weeks, and then I'm done if you don't return. I'm not your slave Dad, I'm not getting paid enough to deal with these idiots,"

"As true as their being idiots may be, you aren't getting paid anything. You are earning your massive inheritance," He said, more meanly than he had meant it. "You are doing this for Toki. You are doing this because you are my daughter. You are doing this for the benefit of all of the nations that depend on Dethklok's existence. You are saving the world Charlene. Transmission out," he said as the little screen turned off and sunk into the desk.

Sighing, she turned to the Gear guarding her door. "Send in the hookers, and after that throw yourself off of the highest tower. You're a liability for having heard that. Make sure I can see it from my window," The gear saluted and left. Charlene stood and walked to her large picture window and stood there, as the escorts entered the room.

There were three. Three of the world's most expensive escorts sat on the couch in her private study. The best way to bribe Skwisgaar to give Toki guitar lessons was to provide him with professionals. Unlike randomly selected groupies they were more easily tracked, and could be cleaned up if there were any problems.

"You all understand your job?" Charlene asked and they all nodded. "Very well, go down to Skwisgaar's room and provide him with your services. I must insist however, that you keep your hands off of Toki. No matter how much he tries, you must rebuff him. He is not to be touched,"

"Why? Is he yours?" A particularly buxom brunette said, with a little bit too much enthusiasm and snappishness. Charlene stared hard at her with her lips tight. As she stared the girl down, there was a long scream as a body dropped past her window followed by a wet thud and a chorus of death bells.

"No," Charlene replied, still tight lipped and trying her best to burn the vile creature with her eyes. "But he's far too classy for you. Dismissed, do your job and get out. The gears who show you the door will give you your money," She turned her back, beaming her anger out of the window as she watched the gears cleaning up the mess that their co-worker had made in the court yard. When she heard the door close behind them she returned to her desk and turned on the monitor of Skwisgaar's room . As the escorts entered the door, she glanced at the giant blunt axe above her fire place. If her orders weren't obeyed, there'd be hell to pay.

* * *

><p>The door opened to Skwisgaar's room and three beautiful women walked in. Skwisgaar smiled.<p>

"I believes we has company little Toki. Please don't ruins their ears with your terribles playing," Skwisgaar grabbed the guitar Toki was practicing on and hurled it idly out of the window. There was a dull thwack and a chorus of death bells sang out in the court yard.

Two of the girls jumped quickly into Skwisgaar's lap and begain giggling as Skwisgaar began telling them all about how skilled the fastest-guitar-player-in-the-world's fingers were. And began promptly displaying their abilities shorty.

Toki, whom usually enjoyed watching Skwisgaar was distracted shortly by the buxom brunette who climbed into his lap. "Hi Toki, my name is Trinette. I'm a huge fan,"

If Toki had a way with words, he would have made some joke about how she was certainly the biggest-breasted fan he had met. However, Toki was speechless. While she was beautiful, something in him was screaming for him to throw her off. He felt in his heart that he was betraying Charlene, and something horrible would happen if he went through with it. But then, the experience he had had with the dating agency came back to him.

He recalled how Charlene had tortured him through the shower wall. How she pretended it didn't happen. How she told him to stay out of his office when he snuck in to give her a bouquet of blue and white lilies. How she had sent the chocolates he bought her back with a note that she didn't like chocolate. And then he remembered how she had laughed when Skwigaar had dumped the maami Toki had slaved over into the toilet saying that it looked like shit.

Why should he be loyal to her? She obviously hated him. Time had soured their love. She wasn't a cute little girl any more. She was a shrewish woman, who often made eyes at Skwisgaar just to make Toki jealous. Skwisgaar never even seemed to see her, instead he looked at the wall behind her. She was doing it to punish Toki for something he didn't know he had done. Toki knew better than to waste his dreams and love on women who didn't return it. Instead, he looked at the pretty brunette in his lap and did what any sane man would do.

He took out his dick.

* * *

><p>Charlene stared at the monitor. She stared at the brunette who was now getting dressed. She stared at Toki, covered in his own and the hooker's bodily fluids. She watched as the other two dressed, giggling over the now sleeping Skwisgaar. They were talking, about what was anybody's guess, but all Charlene saw was the laughing. The laughing of those hookers and the returned laughter of the girl who had put that glazed idiot smile across Toki's face. They were laughing at her. They were laughing about the brunette having deliberately disobeyed Charlene's orders. They were laughing at her implied impotance.<p>

Charlene turned then to the intercom system on her desk. She spoke softly into the intercom, telling a gear to bring the brunette to her office. She had forgotten to include part of her payment in the large briefcases that were waiting for them at the doors of Mordhaus. She added to not let the other escorts know where she was going.

* * *

><p>Toki woke up on Skwisgaar's cold floor. The brunette was gone and Toki felt dirty. He turned to ask Skwisgaar's council but realized that he was completely passed out. His girls were gone as well. As always, they were paid to be here.<p>

It hit him then, he had betrayed Charlene with a hooker. He had cheated on the love of his life with some two bit whore. He was thinking with his dick and would probably lose his chance at a family for some sort of one night stand. He stood up and ran to Skwisgaar's bathroom to vomit.

After he had thoroughly emptied his stomach he walked slowly back to his room, tears flowing down his face. He felt so bad about himself for having done something so stupid and disrespectful. As he sat down on his bed he turned Deddy's face towards the wall. He couldn't stand to have the bear that Charlene had given him staring at him. His plastic eyes were no longer reminders of her beautiful smile, they were accusing him. Even looking at the bear's little devil tail made him feel like dying. He was a sinner, a disgusting unworthy sinner, and that beautiful angel in her study knew that. That's why she had rejected him. She had known all along that he was a bad person and didn't want him to taint her.

He began to sob in earnest. Dropping to his knees he began reciting a prayer begging for forgiveness. He pulled his shirt off over his head and reached under the mattress finding the whip that he had abandoned for several years before Charlene returned. He knew what she was, an angel sent to show him what he had done wrong.

Again and again he whipped himself, reciting the prayer over and over. He kept whipping until the pain made him pass out on the floor in a pool of blood and tears.

* * *

><p>Charlene reclined in the large comfortable recliner in the secret room behind one of the bookcases in her office. She removed a cigarette from the pack she had taken out of the hooker's purse and decided to trade a bit of niceities with the woman she had brought back here.<p>

"Mind if I bum one?" She asked.

A wheezing sound came from the body strapped to the table.

"Good," Charlene said, lighting it and taking a large drag. She slumped in the chair. "You can say I didn't warn you, so stop crying,"

The wheezing continued from the bound figure.

"I'm glad I sliced your vocal chords, I can't stand to hear the sound of people pitying themselves. This is all your fault really. It was a really easy order to follow. Don't fucking touch Toki. Clear as day," She took another drag and stood, picking up the huge blunt axe and walking back into her study. She turned before she slammed the door to say one more thing.

"I was thinking of killing you instead of letting you dehydrate with all your major joints broken, but with your insistence on crying and feeling sorry for yourself, I'm thoroughly disgusted. Enjoy your pity party," Here, she slammed the bookcase over the opening and the wheezing stopped. The sound proofing would prevent any of that racket disturbing her plans. She walked to her hearth and place the axe again in its holder, chuckling at the engraving on the handle. It had been given to her by an admirer at school in Finland. It said "Every real Viking needs a good battle axe. Happy Birthday Camilla!-Arturii" Apparently getting drunk and starting a massive bar brawl made one a Viking.

Quickly, she began making calls around Mordhaus. It was time Toki accepted his place in the pantheon. She ordered the gears to prepare the Dethkopter for a trip to Finland, and to tell Toki to report to the landing pad in 2 hours. He was coming with her, and no one else was to no. No security detail was needed, they would be going to a small village in Northern Finland, where it was perpetual night at this time of year. They shouldn't be expected back for several days.

Charlene reached into a secret drawer in the bottom of her desk. She pulled out a heavy bracelet made of iron. It had the seal of her order, The Children of Väinämöinen, in the center. This bracelet would allow her to awaken the sleeping death god that resided in Toki.


	2. The Axe Falls

Toki had been escorted by two gears to Mordhaus' helipad. He had only been told that Charlene had sent for him and that they were to leave to Finland immediately. He had assumed that the rest of the band was already on the Hatredcopter so he climbed aboard. Much to his surprise he only found Charlene seated on the couch by one of the windows. He had never seen her dressed like this. Instead of her gray suit, she was wearing an all white jumpsuit with high boots with a dagger sheathed inside. Two all white hooded cloaks hung on the rack beside the couch.

"Wheres is the bands?" Toki asked his voice unsure.

"They aren't coming with us Toki. We have some business in Finland that only requires you and I," she answered bluntly in a monotone that he wasn't used to. He was quickly becoming apprehensive and unsure.

"Are you okays?" He asked, his voice wavering slightly.

"I am fine Toki. Your behavior lately has spurred the urgency of this journey," she said, picking up a book with an odd symbol on the cover. Toki didn't recognize it. He hadn't seen it in her study. Something about the symbol stirred something deep within him, something visceral. Something told him he should run, before the Hatredcopter took off. Run inside and warn the rest of the band about her odd behavior; but something kept him rooted to the spot. He heard the blades start spinning quicker and quicker, and soon the queasy feeling he always got when he became airborne hit him. She spoke again, in the same disconcerting monotone, "Don't you trust me, Toki."

It was an order, not a question.

* * *

><p>The pilot told Toki when he asked that the flight would take them roughly 10 hours if the weather was fine. More than likely the flight would take longer. When he asked where they were going he would only say near Ivalo. The tone he used told Toki that even he didn't know the name of the place. He returned from the pit to see Charlene on the couch unmoved, still reading the odd book. It had only been two hours, but he hadn't seen her move once. Not to scratch her face, not to shift her weight, not to do anything. The book had absorbed her, it was almost as if she was in a deep trance.<p>

"Charlene, where are we going?" Toki asked, hesitantly breaking the silence between them. Without looking up, she replied.

"Outside of Ivalo. To the town I spent many years in after leaving college." Her answer sounded far away, as if she wasn't even in the same room as Toki.

"Why?"

"You'll see when we get there. I have an errand to run for some old friends." He couldn't see her face clearly through her hair, but he could hear in the words that a conspiratorial smile cross her lips.

"I want to goes back to Mordhaus," he said, trying to impress on her that he was scared.

"When we are finished we will Toki. I suggest you get some sleep and enjoy this night. I do not know if I will be successful, and if I am not, neither of us will return." The phrase was pronounced in a matter-of-fact tone, as if it hadn't been a confirmation of them both dying on this trip. As if it weren't a big deal.

"Charlene . . ."

"Toki, I'm trying to prepare. The more prepared I am, the more likely it is that we will both live. Go sleep, I will retrieve you when we have arrived." The air of finality that rang around this statement told him that she wouldn't turn around. No matter how dangerous the task, they were both going to "outside of Ivalo" and they may never return.

Toki walked back into a room that housed cots for the band to sleep on long flights. He lied down and contemplated the woman sitting on the couch just outside the door, reading a book that was supposed to prepare her for a task that might kill them both. He tried to remember the little girl in the pink dress who insisted that they would be married when they were old enough and compare her to the strangely dressed woman he had just spoken two. Try as he might, he couldn't not reconcile the two. This was not who he remembered, something had changed and that scared him.

Try as he might, he couldn't sleep. He lay on the cot that wasn't much less comfortable than his usual bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to puzzle out what they were doing going "outside of Ivalo" but he couldn't figure it out. The only things he knew were that they were alone except the pilot and no one knew where they were. He felt a sudden jolt and he sat up.

He heard footsteps rapidly approaching the door to the room. He briefly contemplated turning the lock and barricading himself in to keep the horrifying woman out. Hoping that maybe someone would realize that they were missing, that maybe they'd send a group of Gears to save him; but something was stopping him. Something deep within him told him that he needed to let this happen. He needed to brave death. Something was calling to him.

The door opened and there was Charlene dressed in one of the snow white cloaks that were hanging on the rack by the couch. She handed the second to him.

"Put this on. I can only imagine how cold you will be with that stupid shirt and shitty jeans. I can only assume that you are at least a little acclimated to the cold. We have a long hike ahead of us, so put it on."

Toki hesitated.

"You scared little idiot, put on the cloak and follow me." She threw the cloak at him.

He didn't like her tone at all. She had never insulted him like that. She had never called him stupid and meant it. Something rose in him when she called him a coward too. Although he was hurt he could feel the little ball of anger forming in the pit of his stomach. He stood and put the cloak on, fastening the pin at the top noting that the pin was in the same shape as the seal on the book. She began walking rapidly out of the Hatredcopter glancing briefly at the pilot and giving him orders to leave if they didn't come back in 15 hours and inform Dethklok of their death. He nodded at her and returned to the cockpit to keep a watch for them. Toki again felt the fear that had stalled him when she had thrown the cloak. He froze and turned to him again.

"Afraid little Toki? You should be, I doubt you have the strength to complete this task. I believe that everyone was wrong about you. You'll die like the last one because you're too weak to rise to any challenge. That Skwisgaar, now he has real strength. I only wish I had learned that as a girl. I should have never insisted that we take you with us. Maybe I should have let you die in the snow. Maybe Mayer would still be alive if you hadn't come with us. Skwisgaar is more worthy than you, and he always will be."

Toki listened to this all, the hard ball of anger in his stomach growing larger. It was slowly overcoming the fear he had about taking this journey. Instead he wanted to fire back and prove his worthiness. He wanted to slam her against a wall and make her understand that she belonged to him. Skwisgaar would never have her. He couldn't find the words, so instead he took a step forward, ready to grab her. Instead she spun around and climbed out of the Hatredcopter and into the snow.

The hike to the village took them about 15 minutes. Toki glanced around, wondering what sort of place this was. All of the buildings were decaying, crumbling into the snow around them. There were still people here, however. He could see the smoke from their fires. A few times he saw children with their faces pressed against the windows, looks of fear on their faces. As they advanced further in the village he saw a few adults in the street. They all stopped and stared. At first he thought they were staring at him, but slowly he realized that they were staring at Charlene. Many of the old women were making hand motions at her, most of them recognizable as signs to ward off evil. However, there were a few that made gestures of acknowledgement and respect toward her.

He also caught snippets of whispers. He only recognized two words "Brunhilda" and "Väinämöinen" but they rang in his ears. He could only remember that Brunhilda was a queen long ago in history. The other word he only heard and couldn't comprehend. Something in his gut told him the name was important, but he couldn't remember what it meant. Charlene whispered back to him.

"Walk faster. We cannot linger here. Don't listen to their foolish drabble. They don't understand anything beyond their mundane existence."

They were now on the outskirts of the village where the woods began. She spoke to him again.

"Don't fall off the path. This wood grows wild, and although I know it well I cannot guarantee I'll find you if you get lost. There are things that live here too terrible to mention and they won't hesitate to kill the unworthy. I cannot save you from them, nor would I want to."

Toki felt fear surge, the dark woods terrified him. He wanted to run back into the village. As if she had heard his thoughts and said to him.

"You can run fast, but I can run faster. I will catch you. And even if you somehow overpower me, the people of the village will kill you as quickly as the monsters in these woods. They don't trust people in white cloaks, they know better."

She kept walking, her pace fast and furious. She knew where she was going and Toki was left to try and catch up, following her mainly by her tracks in the snow.

They came upon a cave after they had been walking for a few hours. Toki didn't like the look of the cave, but Charlene pushed forward. Toki lagged behind and she called him.

"They have our scent Toki, and if you don't follow, they will take you away. I will not save you, and you cannot save yourself. I highly suggest you not linger."

Toki pushed himself further. Part of him was resisting, telling him that this was not right. That cave was so dark, and it looked as if it would swallow him up. Another part of him, something deep within him was telling him that this cave was his destiny. This was where he was meant to be. Something told him that this was a place of power and that he must accept. Flashes of long distant dreams came back to him; Charlene's face looking up into his, ecstasy contorting her features; her promising him something, something that he had lost. It was there in a flash and then gone. He continued on and entered the gaping mouth of the cave into the darkness.

* * *

><p>Charlene was finally home. She smelled the earth and the cave moss that grew somewhere deep within the bowls of the holy place and they comforted her. She had been pushing her fear down all day, remaining calm and trying not to betray her pain to Toki. She was so terrified that she would fail, that Toki wouldn't live and that she would join him. She knew that he was the Order's last hope, if this failed then all was lost. She felt her way from memory to one of the torches and lit it with a pack of matches she had concealed in her cloak. She continued around the cave and lit each torch. Repeating the words that she had learned to invite the spirits to come and watch over her.<p>

She kept her back to Toki most of the trip, her face would have betrayed her. Every time she insulted him she grimaced. She didn't like hurting him in this way, but the only way to bring out the savageness of him was to bring his anger. Praising Skwisgaar over him, telling him that he was unworthy, telling him that he was weak, all of these things were necessary. If he was the son of Tuoni they would spark his anger. If he was a demigod, then he would rise to the challenges. She hoped that the heat she had felt on the back of her neck was his glances of anger. Now she must draw out the anger.

She finished lighting the torches and, with her back still to Toki, she lowered her nose to the snuff box on her right middle finger and took a bump of Pickles's cocaine. He had told her it was good stuff, and she had to agree. She felt the sudden pounding of her heart, faster than it had been all day, and she began to see further into the dark. The specters of the dead members of the order began to materialize around the cave. Some were ones she knew, the ones that had died by the Betrayer's hands, and others who had died long before she was even born. Generations of specters were crowded around the cave's walls looking at her and Toki. She unfastened her cape and turned to Toki, it was time to summon the anger within him, and in turn summon Tuoni to test Toki.

"Whats are we doing in this old caves, Charlene?"

"How dare you speak in the holy place?" she asked, summoning all the nastiness she could. She took a step toward him and grabbed his cloak. She ripped it from his neck, almost knocking him off his feet.

"You swine. You know-nothing. You've been in the US how long? You still can't even speak English properly. You dishonor me Toki." She took another step and shoved him as hard as she could.

"What is wrongs with you?" He asked. The question had both fear and annoyance in his voice. She was on the right path.

"You dishonor me by speaking so casually in this holy place. You are such a worthless waste of space. I barely feel like you would make an appropriate sacrifice. Even Murderface would be better than you." She could see his eyes narrowing in anger and he took a step back towards her.

"Yous can't compares me to Morderface. You ams a real bitch Charlene." She could see it in his eyes. That had hit a raw spot.

"At least he knows how to play an instrument. You bang like a monkey on the string of your guitar attempting to make music worthy of listening to. I'm glad they always turn your amps down during concerts. Your ineptitude makes me want to vomit." She raised her voice slightly, spurring Toki to do the same.

"Yous wants to be a sluts for Skwisgaar? Go aheads! He wills use you ups and throw you aways! Not evens Morderface would haves you afters that!" He was yelling, anger boiling in him.

"Maybe I will," she said, making a move towards the mouth of the cave, Toki shoved her back. "How dare you touch me? Who do you think you are? I should have left you to die in Oslo. The vision of you blackened with frostbite is beautiful. Little rabbit dead in the snow. Brutality defined." Toki bared his teeth and slapped her. She stumbled with the force of the blow. She couldn't taste blood. She needed to prod him more.

Regaining her balance she rushed at him, "You worthless bastard!" He pushed her back again harder before. He was almost there. Just something more, something to make him mad enough to draw blood.

"I never respected you! I never loved you! I renounce you Toki!" She shouted, reaching in her cloak and pulling out Deddy. She quickly grabbed her pukko out of her boot and with one quick slash decapitated the bear she had given him as a child and let its body fall to the floor. There was a pause as Toki saw his most treasured possession fall to the floor. She saw the fire flare in his eyes and prepared herself for the blow that was forthcoming.

Apparently she hadn't prepared enough. He punched her right in the jaw and blew her back several feet. She fell, disoriented. She tasted the blood rushing into her mouth. He had knocked out one of her molars. Quickly, as she heard Toki approaching her to lay a second blow she spat the first blood of anger onto the iron bracelet and whispered the words to summon Tuoni. As Toki picked her up by the collar of her shirt drawing back his fist to hit her again, the spirit of Tuoni appeared behind him grabbing his elbow and stopping the blow. Before Toki could glance back at the ghost his spirit was ripped from his body and Tuoni disappeared. Toki's body fell to the floor, bringing Charlene with it and began to seize. She pulled a stopwatch from her cloak and clicked the counter, quickly she picked up the pukko she had dropped when Toki punched her and held it prone over his heart. He had five minutes to return, if he didn't then he was lost, and she would kill him; following him quickly into Tuonela.

* * *

><p>Toki didn't know where he was. He was standing beside a large man wearing a black cloak staring across a large field where it appeared millions of people were lying asleep.<p>

"Toki, do you know why you have come here?"

"No," he managed to say after a moment.

"This is your land Toki. This is where you belong. Do you know where you are?"

"No."

"This is Tuonela Toki. This is the land of the dead. Walk with me."

Toki began to follow the strange man between the rows and rows of people. "All those who have died lay here Toki. All of them lay here sleeping eternally."

Toki had nothing to say, he just glanced side to side. Looking at all the faces he didn't recognize. They walked in silence for what seemed like eternity.

"This is where you will lie Toki," said the man pointing at a throne next to a much larger one that lay in the center of all the bodies. Just to the side of these thrones were the bodies of his father, his guitar teacher and the little girl who had died. He didn't feel sad looking at them, but he watched them sleeping, silently, not stirring.

"You may talk to them if you like," the man said. Toki approached the body of his father and shook him. His father bolted upright staring into his face. He had a mixture of fear and anger on his face.

"Why do you disturb my sleep Toki? Haven't I told you to never wake me."

Toki let go of his father's shoulder, and waited. The man began to drift again whispering quietly as he fell back to sleep. "You are not my son."

Toki stood. Looking at the others, moving towards his guitar teacher he woke him.

"Boy, what are you doing here?"

"I was brought here, by that man," he said, pointing to the cloaked figure standing just behind him.

"We all are, I guess, but it's not your time boy. You still have much to do. I never had confidence in your ability, but I knew you'd amount to something boy. I knew you'd be part of my coming here, and I'm glad for it. I needed you to help me, you brought me mercy. And I thank you."

He fell back asleep. And Toki lowered his body back to the ground.

He stepped next to the girl and lifted her.

"Toki, you finally visited me," she said smiling.

He smiled back.

"Toki, I know why you didn't come to me until I came here. You didn't know that you could visit me and bring mercy, but you know who you are and what your existence means. Return and know that you belong on the earth. You are mercy and bring on sweet relief. You were always my favorite Toki." And she fell asleep in his arms. He lowered her to the ground and glanced at the large man in the cloak.

"Do you understand who you are Toki?"

"I think so."

"So take your place here and return to your servant. You know what you have to do." The man gestured to the smaller of the thrones and Toki approached it. He sat and felt power surging through him. He was the god of death on earth. All those who had died because of him died because he showed them mercy. He wasn't the son of that man who had tortured him, he knew that now. He was the son of the large man in the cloak. A blinding white filled his eyes and he felt a rushing as he returned to Charlene.

* * *

><p>Four minutes and thirty seconds. It was getting close. She began to tremble as the specters of the order moved closer. Some were whispering that she had failed, but the father was waiting silent and silenced the others with a wave of his hand. Suddenly Toki stopped shaking. She looked at his eyelids fluttering as he looked up at her.<p>

"Who are you?" She demanded.

"The bringer of mercys and the son of the dark cloaked man. The second hand of Tuonela"

Charlene stopped trembling and glanced at the father. He smiled and he and the rest of the specters began to fade. She let out a sigh of relief and collapsed from her crouch into a sitting position.

"I am sorry Toki, for treating you that way. I . . ."

Toki grabbed her hands. "I knows why you did it now. Don't apologizes. You ams the ones I needed to be brutal."

He sat up and grabbed her pulling her into a bruising kiss. He pulled away and looked at the startled look on her face. He didn't feel bad about it at all. He did it again, pushing her to the floor and struggling with her clothes. She struggled to help him, breathing hard. She needed this as much as he did. She saw that his pupils had dilated enough to cover his irises, leaving only a corona of icy blue. He was filled with the strength of Tuoni, and he knew it.

He tore off her pants above the boots, not bothering to remove them and threw the tatters into the darkness. She worked equally hard to remove his shirt. They were in frenzy of emotion. Things waited for, for ages it seemed. Their reunion had been delayed too long.

As they made love on the hard earth floor of the cave Charlene promised to serve and obey the bringer of mercy until the day they died. Toki accepted this and agreed that he would hold her to the highest honor and no other.

When it was all over Toki bundled Charlene and the decapitated Deddy in her cloak, and pulled his around him to hide his nudity. Their clothes lied somewhere in the depths of the darkness to rot. And for the second time in his life, he carried Charlene naked through the snow. When they returned to the Hatredcopter the pilot greeted them briefly and they began the long journey home.

* * *

><p>"Where have you been?" Charles' voice rang out of the screen on Charlene's desk.<p>

"Taking care of something I should have been able to take care of weeks ago," she answered putting another stitch in Deddy's neck. She had never been very good at sewing, but Toki had asked her to fix him the best she could.

"Taking care of what?" Charles snapped again.

"The Order's business," she replied again, making another too long stitch and trying to figure out how to fix it.

"What is this about 'The Order'? I've heard about this in our spies reports. Apparently the Tribunal knows about it and has an insider in their ranks. From what I've heard it's some sort of Finnish occult society."

"Yes."

"And, what did you do to Toki?"

"I showed him his destiny and returned the bringer of mercy to his rightful place. I completed the work that they had begun."

"You have deliberately disobeyed me," Charles said, anger in his voice.

"I have three loyalties in the world. To you, to Dethklok and to the Order. The Order left this work to me and to me alone. The Order's work couldn't wait any longer, I was willing to wait four months, no more. It was time."

Charles sighed, unsure of what to do. He should have her killed, but the little bit of sentiment he had was for his daughter. "There's no going back?"

"No."

Charles rubbed his temples. "Whatever you have done to Toki won't affect the band?"

"Not in my opinion. Toki will remain an inept guitarist, Skwisgaar will remain the fastest guitarist in the world, and the band will continue causing death and destruction wherever they go."

"I suppose that's good enough. I will be back in three weeks. Try the best you can to keep your relationship under wraps. Be discreet for god sakes."

"That shouldn't be a problem."

"Fine then. I'm going to find out more about what they know of this secret society and who their informant is. I've heard there is increasing disdain now that you've returned. Whoever is telling them about you and the Order is getting restless."

"The townspeople were always like that. I'm not surprised."

"Okay. Stay discreet for three weeks, and I'll be back."

"Sure, Dad. Make sure you're back in three weeks. And be careful. The townspeople were always very wary of members of the Order. If the Tribunal has a person from the town on their panel, there is no telling what they'll do to get to me now that Toki has been awakened."

"Yes. Three weeks. Out."

The screen went black and Charlene put the final stitch in Deddy's neck. She set it on the desk and looked at her shoddy workmanship. It was a little lopsided but it would do. She picked Deddy up and put on her robe to go back to her room where Toki was sleeping.


End file.
